


Christmas Spirits

by sleebyama



Series: Blinder Slice of Life [4]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 05:43:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19370683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleebyama/pseuds/sleebyama
Summary: Christmas is quite a different affair. Henry expects the first Christmas he’s ever going to spend with the Shelby family to be busy and rough and for all of them to be coming in and out of his apartment, but it’s just Arthur.+set after Black Star Day, before Season 2 Episode 1.





	Christmas Spirits

Christmas is quite a different affair. Henry expects the first Christmas he’s ever going to spend with the Shelby family to be busy and rough and for all of them to be coming in and out of his apartment, but it’s just Arthur. Arthur comes over to his flat and spends the whole night of Christmas Eve with him after what has to be an exhausting get-together of the Shelby family. It’s dark, the moon is hidden behind clouds and Arthur slips into his flat and hangs his coat up all polite.

At first Arthur is quietly creeping through the flat, tidying up. Then he slides into bed with Henry and taps Henry so gently on his shoulder. Henry turns over in bed to see a slim wrapped box with a neat ribbon slapped on top in Arthur’s hands. A giggle escapes Henry’s lips before he’s rushing to sit up and lean forward to kiss Arthur across his blushing cheeks. He plants a deep kiss on Arthur’s lips before Arthur shoves the gift into his hand.

“Arthur, what’s this?” Henry turns it over in his hands before he runs his finger over the length of ribbon that made the bow. 

“Is a present innit? For Christmas.” Arthur rumbles shyly, ducking his head. 

“Arthur you didn’t have to get me anything.” Henry murmurs despite the fact he has a present for Arthur tucked into one of the cabinets in the kitchen. Arthur shakes his head and closes Henry’s fingers over the present insistently. 

“Open it. I want you to open it now.” 

“What about tomorrow, it’s Christmas day tomorrow Arthur? And Boxing Day?” Henry protests while sliding his fingers under the edge of the wrapping paper. Arthur chuckles and shakes his head again.

“Now. I don’t care I want you to open it.” So he does, carefully. He peels the wrapping paper off without even tearing it, before he slides a sleek, black box from the paper. 

“Arthur what is it?” He turns the box over in his hands, scanning the logo on the box. “Arthur it looks expensive.” 

“Go on then. Open it.” Arthur encourages.

He does, lifting the lid. It’s a light, gold, with a silver pattern embossed on both sides in the shape of a sailor’s knot. Henry’s breath catches in his throat as the lamp light shines onto embossing of the lighter.

“Arthur…” Henry doesn’t know what to say. He picks it up from the box, turning it over in his hands before his bottom lip trembles. Either Arthur asked around about knots, or he knew previously about what they meant. His eyes snap up to Arthur, with a blush making his freckles even more pronounced on his cheeks. “Arthur it’s beautiful. It’s so fucking beautiful.”

“It is?” Arthur’s eyes soften when Henry meets them. “I rang Ada up at the library, I asked her to look them up for me. I hope I got the right one, the knots. Ada said they had different meanings and all that.” 

“You did.” Henry leans forward and takes Arthur’s face in his hands, after carefully putting the lighter gently in his lap. “You fucking did Arthur and I love it.” He kissed Arthur then, short and sweet before pulling away and smiling. Arthur’s eyes and mouth were smiling back at him.

“I love you, you know that.” Henry murmurs softly, moving his hand down the side of Arthur’s face. “I love you.” 

“I know that Hen, I know.” Arthur leans forward and kisses him again. 

 

* * *

 

Christmas morning is slow and sweet. Arthur wakes him with kisses to the length of his shoulder, over the scars from his surgery and bullet wounds. Arthur runs a hand down the naked length of his side, before Henry is being put on his back and Arthur is hovering over him while kissing him.

“Good morning Arthur.” Henry smiles softly. 

“It is.” Arthur rumbles down at him, before Arthur’s face is pressed into the crook of his throat and he leaves a trail of open-mouthed kisses there. 

“I have something for you.” Henry says after a moment, pushing his hands against Arthur’s shoulders so that he can roll out of bed. Arthur sits up in bed, with the blankets pooled around his hips and his arms propped back. Henry fumbles up through the cabinets, until he finds the carefully wrapped box he stashed away. 

It took him a long time to find a present that he thought Arthur would like. It’s a tiny thing, a revolver. It’s pitch black and sleek, somewhat like the revolver Arthur currently used but it cost him a fair bit and it had Arthur’s initial’s custom engraved into the grip with a fancy font. Henry’s hands feel damp, and he wipes his hands on his sleep shorts before he brings the box over to the bed.

“I got ye somethin., is for Christmas but since you given me something already, I thought I’d give ye this before tonight, before we had Christmas dinner with your family.” Arthur goes quiet as he slides the box over the sheets. Henry sits himself back down onto the bed, crossing his legs and propping his arm back into his lap. “Well go on then, open it?”

Arthur touches the gift with cautious hands, before the cover of the box is flipped open. Arthur is silent, his mouth slightly parted. Henry rubs his hands together nervously, as Arthur gazes into the box. 

“Do you like it?” Henry asks after a while. Arthur lifts his head slowly, his eyes are wet.

“It’s good. It’s good Henry fuck. How much did you spend on this Hen? How much?” Arthur rambles on. “And where, who? Where’d you get it from? She’s gorgeous she is.” 

“Gunsmith in London. He’s an old friend of my cousin, owed Sebastian a favour from before the war. Sebastian let me call it in after I said I was looking for a present for you.” Henry explains softly. “Go on then, pick it up, hold it.” 

Arthur does exactly that, picking up the revolver and turning it over in his hands. “Is this, that my name?” Arthur runs a thumb over the A and the S on the grip. 

“It is. It’s  _ yours _ . Arthur. It’s yours.” Henry insists.

Arthur turns her over once more in his hands and smiles, it’s soft and open and bright, as are his eyes.

“Merry Christmas eh Arthur?” He leans over to kiss Arthur on the cheek. Arthur turns his head to catch Henry’s lips. It turns slow and sweet and full of emotion. Arthur pulls them flush together on the bed. Their presents get moved to the bedside dresser forgotten when hands start wandering.

It really is a merry fucking Christmas.


End file.
